Current Event Guidelines
Purpose:
Students will use one of the five themes of geography (Mr. Help –
movement, regions, human interaction & environment, location, and place) to
break down, analyze, and write a 5 paragraph essay about a news event. Students will use sources such as a
current newspaper, magazine, and internet.
Objectives:
1. Student will find out how world events
affect them.
2. Student will use latitude and longitude of the city involved.
3. Student will use and reinforce his/her place geography skills.
4. Student will use the fives themes of geography.
5. Student will develop over a period of the next three quarters an awareness of how world
events, geography, and cultures go hand in hand.
Resources/Materials:
Any current newspaper (Sioux City Journal, Omaha World Herald, USA Today,
etc.), magazine (Time, Newsweek), National Geographic mini articles, Scholastic
News, and the internet (CNN), to name a few.
Activity& Procedures: Students will cut out of a current
(within one week) newspaper and tape the article to the backside of their
essay. They will use the graphic
organizer provided. Students will
locate the city of the story with exact latitude and longitude (absolute
location) and write it down. They
may use an atlas or a globe. When
they present their current event, an atlas or globe will be provided to show
where the story took place. Essay
are to be five paragraphs long…first paragraph – introductory (list 3 things you
are going to talk about such as – absolute location, what the story was about,
what you liked/disliked about article; second paragraph – write about your first
detail, third paragraph – write about your second detail, fourth paragraph –
write about your third detail, and fifth paragraph, summarize what you learned
about the story/article you read.
You will have 2-4 minutes to present, don’t read the article, simply
present an oral summary, ask the class what theme they think it fits under and
why; if they get it wrong, tell them what theme it falls under and why. Conclude by thanking the class for
their time and attention.
QUICK GUIDELINE:
____ 5 paragraphs (indent each paragraph)
____ Each paragraph is at least 5 sentences long
____ Use your own word
____ Include interesting facts to connect to your likes/dislikes
____ Include supporting facts and details
____ Use the 5 W’s (who?, what?, when?, where?, and why?)
Use the 6 plus 1 traits of writing:
1) Ideas – Is my message clear?
2) Organization – Do I have a good beginning, middle,
and ending? 3)
Sentence Fluency – Is my paper easy to read?
4) Voice– Does this writing sound like me?
5) Word
Choice – Have I chosen the best words?
6) Conventions– Have I use correct capitalization, spelling, grammar, and punctuation?
7) Presentation– Does my paper look appealing to
read?
1st Paragraph:
Introduction…include 3 details – absolute location, summary of what you read about, and your opinion (liked/disliked,
agreed/disagreed)
2nd Paragraph:
Write about your first detail (absolute location)
3rd Paragraph:
Write about your second detail (summary – what was your story/article about)
4th Paragraph:
Write about your third detail (your opinion, did you like/dislike,agree/disagree)
5th Paragraph: What theme did your article/story represent& why. Summarize what you learned.